Jungmann, Longhorns Force CWS Rubber Match, 5-1

June 23, 2009, 12:00 AM (CT)
Updated: October 29, 2009, 03:38 AM (CT)

Leon Landry made a diving catch in the fifth inning

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OMAHA, Neb. – Texas starter Taylor Jungmann pitched a complete game and the Longhorns collected 12 hits, including two homers to defeat No.1-ranked LSU 5-1 Tuesday night at Rosenblatt Stadium to force a Game 3 in the Championship series.

Jungmann (11-3) held the Tigers hitless from the fourth through the eighth innings and finished his complete game allowing one run on five hits, while walking two and striking out nine.

The Tigers (55-17) lost their first game since a 4-1 loss to Vanderbilt in the opening game of SEC tournament on May 24, snapping a 14-game winning streak.

Game 3 of the Championship series will be played Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN. The winner of Game 3 clinches the National Championship.

Wednesday’s game will also be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network (WDGL 98.1 in Baton Rouge) and live audio and stats can be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.lsusports.net.

Texas (50-15-1) will seek its seventh National Championship on Wednesday and will start sophomore right-hander Cole Green (5-3, 5.07 ERA).

“ I think we’ll stay around here in Omaha for another day if that’s okay,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “It would have been nice to win today, but [Jungmann] had a lot to do with us sticking around. He was outstanding, he had good velocity and a good slider. This was our first loss in 15 games, it’s pretty hard to win every game in baseball, at least that’s what they tell me.“This just wasn’t our night. We have to flush this loss and come out ready to play for the national championship tomorrow. You couldn’t ask for a better situation to be in, playing one game with the national title on the line.”

The first pitch was scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT, but heavy thunderstorms in the area postponed the start time to 7:44 p.m. CT.

Texas got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first after third baseman Michael Torres led off with a walk and scored on an RBI single by first baseman Brandon Belt.

The Longhorns added to their lead in the second when left fielder Preston Clark lined a solo homer over the wall in left to make the score 2-0.

In the bottom of the frame, Jared Mitchell and Leon Landry hit back-to-back singles with two outs before Derek Helenihi reached on an error by shortstop Brandon Loy, allowing Mitchell to score from second and cut the LSU deficit to 2-1.

Senior left-hander Ryan Byrd came on in relief for LSU in the third after starter Austin Ross (6-8) left the game after allowing two runs on four hits in two innings of work.

With one out in the third, Texas designated hitter Russell Moldenhauer blasted a solo homer, his fourth of the College World Series, over the wall in right-center field to give the Longhorns a 3-1 lead.

The next batter, Cameron Rupp doubled and scored on an RBI double by center fielder Connor Rowe to increase the Texas lead to 4-1.

The next batter, Clark, singled to the left side, scoring Rowe and giving the Longhorns a 5-1 lead.

The Tigers’ defense kept them in the ballgame through the middle innings with a great diving catch by Landry in left and several assists and putouts at third by Helenihi.

LSU relievers Nolan Cain and Daniel Bradshaw combined to shutout the Longhorns through the last six innings, allowing a total of five hits combined.

The catchers’ interference call on LSU was the second of this year’s MCWS after not having one in the MCWS since 1981.

This is the fourth time the MCWS Championship Finals has gone to a decisive third game (also 2003, 2006 and 2008).

The one combined save (by Arkansas) in 14 games is the lowest save total in a MCWS since 1993, when no saves were recorded.

Texas’ 50 wins this season would be the Longhorns’ 22nd season with at least 50 wins and the first since 2005, when the Longhorn won 56 games en route to a national title. Texas is the third team in the country to win 50 games, joining LSU (55) and Arizona State (51).

Texas improves to 2-0 in elimination games this season, as the Longhorns defeated TCU in the final game of the Super Regional.

The Longhorns improved to 82-54 all-time at the MCWS, as Texas leads all programs in MCWS in wins (82) and games played (136)

The Longhorns will look to become the first No. 1 overall seed to win a national title since 1999, the first year of the current 64-team format.

Taylor Jungmann improved to 3-0 at the MCWS with his complete-game victory tonight. He is now the 10th pitcher to win three games in a single MCWS and the first since North Carolina’s Alex White in 2008 (complete list is on page 99). He is now 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA over 15.1 innings of work, ranking second among all pitchers in strikeouts and first in ERA.

Jungmann’s complete game was the first of his career, as his previous long outing was 7.2 innings against Kansas State on May 23 at the Big 12 Championship. The last complete game in the MCWS before tonight was Robert Woodard (North Carolina) and Stephen Faris (Clemson) on June 19, 2006, a 2-0 North Carolina win.

Russell Moldenhauer’s four homers at the MCWS ties the single-series MCWS record, as he becomes the 10th player to hit four homers in one MCWS. He is the first player in MCWS history to hit his first four homers of a season at the MCWS. The lowest total of the other nine players entering the MCWS was five by Southern California’s Bud Hollowell in 1963.

Moldenhauer’s third inning homer was his first official at-bat against a left-handed pitcher all season. Prior to tonight, he had walked in his only two plate appearances against southpaws.

Moldenhauer is hitting .375 (6-for-16) with four homers and four RBIs in five MCWS contests

Preston Clark’s three hits marks his first three-hit game of the MCWS and his first since going 4-for-11 against Boston College on May 30.

Texas is now 15-0 this year when holding an opponent to one run or less.

Texas has outscored its opponents 106-31 in the first two innings and is 39-4 when scoring first in a game

Augie Garrido collected his 38th MCWS win on Tuesday and will look to become the second coach to win six national titles, joining Southern California’s Rod Dedeaux.

With tonight’s loss, LSU falls to 34-20 in its 15 MCWS appearances

The loss snaps LSU’s 14-game win streak dating back, as the Tigers had not lost since falling to Vanderbilt, 4-1 in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on May 20.

LSU also sees its nine-game NCAA win streak snapped, as the Tigers are now 9-1 in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were bidding to become the first team to go 10-0 in the NCAA Tournament.

The one run LSU scored tied a season low. LSU had been held to one run on three other occasions (vs. Illinois on March 6; vs. Nicholls State on April 15 and vs. Vanderbilt on May 20).

LSU’s five hits since recording four hits in a loss to Nicholls State on April 15. LSU was hitting .340 during the NCAA Tournament prior to Tuesday.

LSU’s first-inning error snapped a 43.2 inning errorless streak dating back to the fourth inning of LSU’s win over Rice in the Baton Rouge Super Regional on June 6. LSU is fielding .989 in the MCWS, the best of the eight teams in Omaha.

Prior to tonight, the Tigers were 5-0 all-time when have an opportunity to win a national title. The Tigers will look to win their sixth national title, and first since 2000 on Wednesday night.

Tonight marked the first time in five MCWS games where LSU did not score in the first inning.

Leon Landry’s second-inning base hit was his first in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to tonight, Landry was 0-for-7 in four NCAA Tournament games.

LSU head coach Paul Mainieri:(opening statement): “I think we’ll stay around here in Omaha for another day if that’s okay. Would have been nice to win today, but [Jungmann] had a lot to do with us sticking around. He was outstanding, he had good velocity and a good slider. This was our first loss in 15 games, it’s pretty hard to win every game in baseball, at least that is what they tell me.”

(about the start of the game and going to Byrd early instead of Cain): “The start was terrible, to walk the first batter on four pitches, then they were going to sacrifice and the next pitch wasn’t close. Then the error on Gibbs trying to pick off the runner, they scored right away. I thought we were very fortunate that they only scored one run in each of the first two innings. I thought Byrd just has a very different approach than Ross or Cain. [Cain] came in and did a phenomenal job and kept us in the ballgame.”

(about if he considered starting Ranaudo after the weather cooled off): “No. I had no idea the weather was coming, it crept up on us. But I was concerned about Anthony coming back on three days rest. I saw what the weather did to Ruffin yesterday. Ross was charged up to start, and Anthony didn’t think he was starting. We have a chance to win the national championship tomorrow night and we have our Friday night starter on the mound. Whoever wins that game tomorrow is going to earn it.”

LSU outfielder Jared Mitchell(about what made Jungmann’s pitching effective): “He just changed speeds well and kept pitches down. He stayed in the zone and made it tough for us.”

(about the approach to tomorrow’s game following the loss): “If we can’t get up for tomorrow, we shouldn’t be playing. We’ll be ready to play tomorrow.”

LSU relief pitcher Nolan Cain(about LSU’s confidence going into Wednesday’s game): “We have Anthony [Ranaudo], Louis [Coleman] and Matty [Ott] who are ready to go and Daniel [Bradshaw] and I are available to get a couple of outs, so we feel confident. This is what we want to play for. Someone’s going to be a legend tomorrow. Hopefully it will be us.”

Texas head coach Augie Garrido(opening statement): “There was the rain, and it played an important part in the game tonight. It took the temperature down. It helped Taylor (Jungmann) finish the game. When we got off the bus, it was steamy. His teammates got him the lead. I’ve always thought that the best thing for a curveball is a four-run lead. We hit some bumpy spots. We had three errors. It was certainly not a game of perfection. We’ve created another bit of drama.”

(about whether he was confident in Taylor Jungmann after last night’s performance): “I was very confident. It was my decision to put him in that position last night. It was a decision made in haste. I put him into something he wasn’t prepared for. He is a pitcher and a real good one.”

Texas designated hitter Russell Moldenhauer(about his at-bat in the third inning): “I was seeing the ball well. I was laying off the sliders, he was throwing low in the zone. I had a hunch he’d come back inside, and he left it up enough for me to elevate.”

Texas left fielder Preston Clark(about performing well today): “ I felt great. I thought it was just a double. It feels great. I was trying too hard earlier. Good things happen when you have patience and stay behind the ball.”

Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann(about the key to his pitching today): “ I was staying back. I had a good feel for the ball. I mixed the pitches well.”